When It Snows In July
by Rainhe
Summary: After celebrating a year's worth of "real dates", Serena starts to realize what an idiot she's been around Darien. How does she deal with it when she's faced with evil - and taken over by it? And who's Madeline?


When It Snows In July  
By: Rainhe  
Chapter One: Unknown Memories  
  
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~When it snows in July...  
  
...the autumn leaves will fall. The translucent, still water shall freez, and all the seasons will collide. Only then shall my heart cease beating. Only then will things change. And here is my promise - they will never.~  
  
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"Your nails are horrifying," Rei stated bluntly, her brow slightly cocked.  
  
"My nails are beautiful," Serena corrected, drawing her hand to her chest.  
  
"They're pink…"  
  
"What's your point?"  
  
"And they're not painted well…"  
  
"Rei!" Serena glared at the raven-haired girl. "Stop it! I painted my nails for Darien," she sniffed. "They look good."  
  
"Only when you're the Champion of Justice," Rei smirked. She turned around and poured herself a cup of tea, looking up just in time to see a shoe fly over her head. She paused and stared at the shoe for a moment, dumbfounded, then turned on her heels. "What was that for?!" she glared at the blonde.  
  
"Nothing you say will get me down today," Serena huffed, her cheeks flushed. "It's my anniversary with Darien. I'm too happy," she said, her voice cracking. She approached her fallen shoe and shoved it back on her foot.  
  
Rei cocked her head, "Anniversary?" A moment of silence followed, and eventually laughter. "You have an anniversary? You're not even married!"  
  
"It's been one year since Darien and I went on a real date."  
  
"It's not an anniversary if only one person remembers it," she grinned.  
  
"What's that suppose to mean?!" Serena stood up. "Darien will remember it…" She paused for a moment, rethinking her words. "I'm sure of it. Just you wait. You'll see."  
  
"Whatever you say," Rei shrugged, sinking back into a hammock. She lazily watched Serena march out the door, her cheeks puffed and red. Despite everything, a part of her was wishing her blonde friend all the luck in the world. Yet there was another part of her that just knew Darien all too well. The man was sensitive, charming, handsome - perfect - but he wasn't exactly one to remember such "anniversaries". Hell, Serena would be lucky if he'd end up remembering their wedding anniversary, Rei thought, taking a sip of tea.  
  
That, however, was not what was occupying Serena's mind. She was picturing what he would do with her that day - all the special places he might take her, seeing that it was, after all, a special day. She had to admit, though, that a small part of was worried. She was worried - if just a little - about whether or not Darien would care about the anniversary. After all, it was just a real date anniversary. And Rei had a point. They weren't married. Would the man give a damn?  
  
Sad, really, for she was too wrapped up in worries regarding how much he would care about it. Not once did she stop to consider the chance that her sweet pumpkin did not keep track of "first real dates". And, as she hopped cheerfully down the sunlit pavement, there wasn't the slightest doubt in her mind that Darien wouldn't remember. Had the man even thought about any "first" thing couples shared? That was what our poor blonde did not think about.  
  
The elevator came to a gentle stop, a soft bell sounding her arrival. She stepped out and quietly padded down the soft carpeted hall. Her heart was skipping beats as she approached her boyfriend's door. Inhaling deeply, she carefully knocked, fully expecting him to greet her with a smile.   
  
Silence followed.  
  
She could hear the faint sound of cars and birds chirping outside. She even heard muffled voices from other inhabitants of the apartment, yet she heard no footsteps from within her dear sweetheart's room.   
  
Serena scrunched up her nose and took a step forward, pressing her ear against the door. What could he possibly be doing, she wondered, that would leave her alone in anxious silence? The man always had his radio on. If not, he was reading a good book. Even then it wouldn't take him so long to respond.  
  
She knocked again, convincing herself that he had worked himself to death and was asleep from exhaustion. 'Worked himself to death in preparation for this,' she thought wistfully, feeling guilty for entertaining such a selfish thought.  
  
She knocked again, growing impatient and worried. What if he wasn't home? It was Saturday. He told her the week before his Saturday would be free. What if he had gone to her house to surprise her? Or maybe Rei's? Or what if he was running some errands - minor preparations for some extravagant event he was planning to surprise her with.  
  
Serena grinned dreamily at the thought, hoping more than anything he would ride up the elevator, step out, and freeze - caught in the middle of his surprise. She nearly giggled at the idea. How typical of her.   
  
Her mind was unwillingly pulled back to the reality, however, when she realized she had been standing there for minutes. She frowned. Where on earth could the man be?  
  
As if her thoughts had been plucked from the air and read, the elevator chimed open. Darien, a tall, well-built man with raven hair and irresistible deep blue eyes, stepped out with a paper bags in one arm. One hand was shoved in his pocket, gripping what looked like the imprint of a key. He looked up and stopped, dead in his tracks.  
  
Serena's eyes lit up. "Darien!" she exclaimed, throwing herself in his arms.  
  
Darien took a step back, momentarily helpless from the impact, and struggled to hold the bags which nearly fell. He chuckled nervously and hugged the small girl, her frame fragile against his larger body.  
  
Serena buried her face in his chest. "Where were you? I was waiting for you," she said, her mouth crushed against his stomach.  
  
He paled. "Oh, Serena! I - I didn't know you were coming. I, uh... I was just buying stuff."  
  
The man should've guessed she was coming. It was a day off, for Christ's sake. Serena narrowed her eyes when she noticed the lack of color, but the thought of buying things for her perked her up. It immediately vanished from her mind as she poked her nose through the bags. "Bought what sort of stuff?" she said, eyeing a pack of white chocolate bites.  
  
Darien's brows knitted together. "Nothing really - just chips, fish, sushi…"  
  
"Sushi!" Serena squealed, grabbing a pack of sushi from the bottom of one of the bags.  
  
Any remaining color left on Darien's cheeks was immediately drained. He looked defeated. "Um… yeah, I bought sushi…"  
  
She eyed the pack greedily. "You never buy sushi," she implied hopefully. "What's the occasion?"  
  
"Eh… Nothing really."  
  
Serena grinned mentally. Yep. The man was trying to hide it, she convinced herself. 'What a bad liar. Poor thing.' She paused, rethinking her thoughts. 'That's why he's such a good guy. My good guy.'  
  
"It's okay, Darien," she said, finally giving in.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You don't have to pretend anymore." She smiled sweetly. "I know what you bought all this for."  
  
"You do?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yes!" She squealed in delight. "I was right. Rei was wrong! I knew it she was wrong! I knew it you would remember!"  
  
He stared at her, feeling vexed and worried. "Remember what?"  
  
She nudged him playfully. "Oh c'mon, honey… I know you remember our anniversary."  
  
"What?!" He looked positively horrified. "What anniversary?"  
  
Serena's grin faded. She stared at him with large, blue eyes - eyes that searched his own in hope of finding a joke. She was praying it was a joke. If it really was, then it was a damn good one. She was starting to worry. She was starting to consider what an idiot she was for boasting about an anniversary that, just as Rei had implied, only she remembered.  
  
"Serena?" Darien shifted uncomfortably.  
  
Her eyes shimmered with tears. "You mean… You don't remember?" She sniffed. "You don't remember our anniversary?"  
  
"Serena," Darien chuckled nervously once again, thinking it was some sort of joke she was playing on him. "What anniversary are you talking about?" He cocked his head and smiled curiously at her - the way a father would smile at his little girl after hearing made up stories. "We're not even married."  
  
Serena whimpered. "You really don't remember…" She paused, ashamed of how eager she was. She felt disappointed, just as she had so many times before when she let someone down. In this case, she let herself down. So did Darien.  
  
"Serena?" Darien asked quietly, cautiously. His voice echoed in the silence of the hall.  
  
"You don't remember our first real date anniversary!" Serena cried. "I can't believe it! Rei was right! You don't remember it…" She looked down, finding her curled up feet to be interesting.  
  
"Serena…" Darien leaned over and tilted her chin. "I didn't think we had a first real date anniversary." He looked around nervously, thinking of a good excuse. "Every date was a real one to me."  
  
Serena looked at him hopefully. "You mean it?" The hope in her eyes faded. "But…then, why didn't you remember the very first date we had?"  
  
Darien paled again. "Eh… Well, you know how we were back then. We didn't really like each other like that…"  
  
Serena frowned. "Then how come every date was a real one to you? I'm surprised you even considered spending time around me to be a date," she hissed, feeling confident and furious. "And what did you buy all that food for then?"  
  
Darien frustratedly ran his hand through his thick hair. "Serena, you know what I mean. And I bought these things because I'm having a guest over…"  
  
She stopped glaring at him. Her eyes reflected pure curiosity. "Guest? What guest? You could've just told me…"  
  
"Well, you - " he paused, decided it was futile trying to explain things to her. "I wasn't expecting a lot of things this past week, honey. I wasn't sure if you and - and her… I mean, you know…"   
  
Honey, Serena echoed the loving nickname in her mind. 'He actually called me Honey,' she thought cheerfully. 'Then again, he did also say her…' It was as if a truck had run over and killed her joy. "Her? Your guest is a girl?" she said, eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
"Yeah," he replied, feeling a bit more at ease. He was expecting her to explode and shoot a ton of questions at him. Her reaction wasn't that bad… "She's a good friend of mine. We met back at the University. She was visiting her cousin there and… Well, we met, we talked, then we became friends," he shrugged. "She's studying to be a doctor at Tokashima University…" he added reluctantly, quietly, like a dumbass looking for an excuse to ease out the heat.   
  
Serena was silent. She stared at him, trying to make out his expression. The guy looked nervous. She began to feel guilty all over again. Darien was suppose to feel comfortable around her, like he could talk to her about anything.   
  
She mentally shook her head. She couldn't think. The more she pondered over possibilities and who the she-doctor could be, the more blurry things became. She didn't even know why she was so worried. There were many beautiful girls at the university - blondes, redheads, brunettes - all sorts of girls. Darien even had this pretty friend named Alexandra. Serena remembered envying the girl, but in the end they turned out to be friends. The girl was sweet and obviously meant no harm. In fact, she had a boyfriend of her own. This friend couldn't be any different, even though she was a doctor and perhaps didn't have a boyfriend and was special enough for Darien to prepare a meal for…  
  
Serena looked up, feeling hopeless. She wanted to just stand there and feel safe, like she didn't have to worry about anything. She knew Darien was watching her. She knew he was nervous. She knew she was acting like a jealous girlfriend - the type guys feared other than psychotic ones. She knew all this, yet all she wanted to do was stare at him and just not think. Thinking made her worry. She didn't want to worry.  
  
And that was exactly what she did.  
  
She stared at him. She allowed her gaze to sweep across his nose, his strong jaw, those soft lips. She scanned the overall image of him, relishing the brief moment of sweet thoughtlessness. She stared intently at his shirt and observed the way it emphasized both his eyes and his chest, muscles that only she would see -  
  
She slapped the idea away, blushing innocently.  
  
Darien stared back at her curiously. She was confusing him, no longer troubling him. She could tell.  
  
"Um, Serena, I really have to get going… I still need to get this all ready. She'll be here any minute now."  
  
Serena stood still, her gaze stretching out into eternity. What was she thinking? She had no right to be jealous. She knew their destiny together. Darien did. They met their future daughter for God's sake. Wasn't that a sign for any girl to stop worrying? A sign that proved they were really meant to be together, and that nothing could stand in their way?  
  
"Serena?"  
  
"Uh…don't you have to cook?"  
  
Darien smiled. Immediately her tense heart relaxed. Be easy-going. That was the trick. She liked it already. It was the best way to be a good girlfriend. If it appealed to Darien, as it obviously did, then she loved it.  
  
"No, actually. She said she wanted to help me cook. Her grandfather was a chef. He taught her many things, and I mentioned before that I had no luck in cooking, so she offered to help."  
  
'So she offered to help,' Serena thought devilishly, trying desperately to shake the evil thought away. Being a jealous girlfriend came naturally despite everything, and she hated it. "Okay then. I - I just wanted to… well, I'll let you go. I'll talk to you tomorrow?" she said, successfully keeping a leash on the bitterness scratching at her throat.  
  
Darien looked uncomfortable again. "You know, Serena, it would be nice if you could meet her. She knows I have a girlfriend. I think she would like it if you could help out or…or maybe just stay around for me to introduce you two."  
  
Serena's heart melted. "Really?" she asked earnestly.  
  
"Really," Darien smiled.  
  
'There we go. See? It won't be bad after all,' Serena thought, finally content.  
  
As if fate had eavesdropped on their conversation, the elevator chimed open again. A tall, slim woman stepped out. She her golden, fiery hair - the orangy-red type that seemed to glow. They showered in waves down to her slim waist, which was wrapped in a formal black suit. Her skirt was short, revealing creamy, slender legs and feet adorned with heels. The woman looked like she had just stepped out of a meeting. And, above all, she had mesmerizing eyes - grey eyes that twinkled, the rare kind.  
  
Serena felt intimidated. Darien looked eager.   
  
"Madeline!" he exclaimed as the gorgeous woman wrapped him in a quick embrace.  
  
'Her own way of greeting people,' Serena thought bitterly, in spite of herself. The woman practically danced across the hall and wrapped Darien in her damned silken embrace. She only saw the woman and already she could tell what an admired, sophisticated girl she was. Certainly graceful compared to Serena, considering her greeting involved running into to people. This woman did all but shower Darien with rose petals.  
  
"Hello, Darien," she said sweetly, not even casting a glance in Serena's direction. "So glad to finally see you again."  
  
'Lovely - even her voice is sweet,' Serena cringed, hating the way it sounded so gentle… like bells.  
  
"I just got back from the supermarket," Darien grinned, gesturing to the paper bags.   
  
Serena looked down at the sushi which was still in her hand. She quickly slipped it in one of the bags.  
  
Darien, fondly taking note of what she did, wrapped his free arm around Serena. "Madeline, I'd like you to meet someone. This is my girlfriend Serena. Serena, this is Madeline."  
  
Madeline finally looked at Serena and extended her arm. "Hello, Serena. A pleasure to meet you."  
  
Serena solemnly shook her hand, forcing a small smile. "Madeline. Nice to meet you too."  
  
"You can call me Maddie," she smiled. "I've heard many things about you."  
  
Serena's lip twitched. Maddie? "Really? I've heard many things about you too."  
  
"All lies, I'm sure," she laughed.  
  
'All lies? What do you know… the woman's arrogant. Darien could've cursed her for all she knew,' Serena bit harshly. 'Trying to be modest…'  
  
"So, are you joining us for lunch?" Madeline asked. She looked so interested, so eager, Serena wasn't sure if she was truly a goodie-goodie or just a brilliant actress. The thought of her being either one of them was repulsive.   
"Yeah, Serena, we'd like it if you could join us. Maybe you could even help out."  
  
'And there goes my boyfriend, trying to act. He knows I can't cook.' Serena panicked. Where were all these thoughts coming from? She didn't think she could be capable of such jealousy.   
  
She looked at the two. They were staring at her politely, waiting for her to reply yet probably hoping she would say no. It was all fake. Darien was probably just worried. Madeline - Maddie - was probably just looking for something get Darien in the best mood… or alone. Then again, there she stood, Serena the small girl in run-down shorts and a worn out pink shirt, in the middle of two tall, sophisticated beings who could be mistaken for a couple. She felt out of place. Only then did her differences with Darien stand out. She felt like a child between two young parents. Girlfriends were not meant to feel like children around their boyfriends.  
  
She looked down at her fingers. Rei was right. She didn't do such a great job of painting her nails, and the color didn't suit her mood. Rei was right about everything. She had to face that.  
  
Serena sighed and looked up, masking her shame. She shook her head and smiled. "No thanks. I'd love to, but I gotta go get some stuff done." She paused, taking note of how neutral they looked. "Thanks for the offer anyway. Um…have fun."  
  
Darien actually looked a bit disappointed. Madeline didn't seem to care. Then again, she was just a total stranger.  
  
"Are you sure, Serena? I mean, I bought a lot of food. We could use another person to help us fin - "  
  
"I'm sure," Serena said, regaining her composure. It wouldn't last. She knew she had just enough time to run out before she would collapse.   
  
Madeline reluctantly faced Darien's door. Oh yes, the girl was eager. Probably thrilled. "Well, maybe some other time then?" she said.   
  
Serena nodded, mute and broken. She weakly waved goodbye and walked off. She could feel their eyes upon her for a moment. As soon as the elevator chimed open, she heard the faint sound of keys and reluctant voices. Madeline's was tainted with obvious excitement. It suddenly didn't sound so good.  
  
Serena stepped inside the elevator and collapsed against the wall. She heard the soft sound of a door clicking shut. The elevator doors closed, revealing her distraught reflection against the gleaming glass. She looked normal - a little shaky, but normal. How she swallowed her pride and managed to say everything she did, how she managed to pretend she was fine…  
  
She did not know. She only hoped they bought it.  
  
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AN: There goes my promise to write "different" fics for this account. -_-'' What can I say... I may love other anime, but Sailor Moon shall forever captivate my mind and enslave my heart.   
  
If you want more chapters, please review. ^-^ *nudges* Please pardon any errors, by the way. I kinda rushed through this. -_-'' 


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